Zetterholm

Just days after running second in the April 15 Arkansas Derby (G1), the connections for Conquest Mo Money decided to skip the first leg of the Triple Crown and head straight to the Preakness, calling it the best interest of their horse.

A multiple stakes-winning son of popular and successful young sire Uncle Mo, Conquest Mo Money came up a half-length short of 2016 champion 2-year-old male Classic Empire in Hot Springs, despite breaking from Post 11.

It was the second straight runner-up finish for the bay New York-bred colt, who suffered his first career loss March 26 in the Sunland Derby (G3), beaten 3 ¾ lengths by Kentucky Derby contender Hence.

Conquest Mo Money won his first three lifetime starts, all at Sunland, including back-to-back victories in the Riley Allison Stakes and Mine That Bird Derby, named for the upset winner of the 2009 Derby that finished second by a length behind filly Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness.

Other Derby horses he beat in Arkansas were Lookin At Lee, Sonneteer and Untrapped. At Sunland Conquest Mo Money has twice beaten Irap, another Derby horse that broke his maiden winning the Blue Grass (G2).

Jockey

Jorge Carreno

Originally from Mexico City, Mexico, Jorge Carreno came to the U.S. to begin riding at the age of 19 in 2002. After winning 35 races from 283 mounts in his first year, he has compiled more than 1,300 wins and nearly $14 million in purse earnings.

Carreno picked up career win No. 1,000 aboard Artistic Design on Oct. 9, 2013 at Turf Paradise. His lone graded stakes victory came in the 2012 Canadian Derby (G3) at Northlands Park with Toccetive.

At the 2016-17 Sunland Park meet that ended April 18, Carreno finished sixth with $561,137 in purse earnings. The previous two years he ranked in the top in in both wins and purses at Turf Paradise in Arizona.

Owner

Judge Lanier Racing

Tom and Sandy McKenna run as Judge Lanier Racing in honor of Mr. McKenna’s grandfather, who raised him in El Paso, Texas. The McKennas purchased Conquest Mo Money for $8,500 as part of the Conquest Stables dispersal at the Keeneland November 2016 sale, the cheapest of the six horses they bought. Heading into the Preakness, the Uncle Mo colt has banked $508,900 in purse earnings.

Tom McKenna, 81, and his wife have more than 50 horses in training in New Mexico. McKenna first got on a horse at age 2 and rode on the rodeo circuit in his youth, also training quarter horses and barrel horses. The couple moved from their Colorado ranch to a 1,200-acre spread near Taiban, N.M. in the early 2000s.

The McKennas raced their first horses in 2004 and reached career highs last year in wisn (68), starters (415) and purse earnings ($1.12 million). Their richest horse to date is 8-year-old mare African Rose, an eight-time stakes winner at Albuquerque, Sunland Park and Zia Park.

Trainer

Miguel Hernandez

After an injury ended his riding career in the summer of 2013, Miguel Hernandez has transitioned to become one of the leading trainers in New Mexico with some three dozen horses under his care.

Hernandez, a native of Mexico City, suffered a back injury in a spill at Ruidoso Downs and was uncertain of his future before being offered a job as private trainer for Tom and Sandy McKenna’s Judge Lanier Racing. Hernandez ranked in the top 10 in wins and purses at the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Sunland Park meets.

During his riding career, Hernandez won 1,846 races including multiple stakes between 1986 and 2013. He ranked among the top jockeys in Mexico and at Turf Paradise in Arizona before joining the New Mexico circuit.

In 2016 Hernandez won 57 races and $860,394 in purse earnings from 292 starters. Conquest Mo Money represents his best horse to date.